May the Circle Remain Unbroken
by SylverAngel
Summary: Another short and sweet story for you Waff addicts Would it help if I said this is a sequel, basically, to Baby Love?


Just another sappy little thing my brain thought up when I was trying to sleep one night. Gotta love when that happens, and you can't sleep until you at least write the idea down. Anyhow, hopefully this'll tide you guys over until I get more waffy stuff into "Sight Unseen" :)  
  
This is kindof a sequel to "Baby Love," for those of you demanding one :) If that little ficcy wasn't obvious with who it was, I'm sure some hints in this one will be :)  
  
  
May the Circle Remain Unbroken  
  
  
"Come back here, you little demon!"  
  
The growled order was followed by childish squealing and laughter.  
  
She looked up from the basket she was folding laundry into, out the open window above the table currently holding the pile of clothes yet to be done. The sight beyond made her smile.  
  
Her son and her mate were rolling around on the ground, the boy's father pretending to be the weaker of the two and ending up on the bottom, his son's legs straddling his chest.  
  
"Got you!" the little one growled and leaned down to snap at his father's nose with his tiny fangs.  
  
"Oh no! The big, bad demon caught me! How will I ever get away?"  
  
This elicited more giggles from the boy, intermixed with growls.  
  
She leaned an arm on the table and rested her chin in her hand.  
  
"Oh, please don't hurt me!" The larger of her two men held his hands up above his shoulders as if to ward off an attack from the much smaller one sitting on top of him.  
  
"Got you!" the boy sang out once more, curling his small hands and grinning down at his father.   
  
"Yes, you do. But guess what?"  
  
The little one cocked his head to the side, his fingers growing slack as he waited.  
  
"Now, _I've_ got _you!_" Strong arms wrapped around the squirming boy and drew him down into a hug. "And I'm not gonna let you go!"  
  
She sighed and shook her head. Her son fell for that trick every time. She continued to watch as he settled down contentedly on his father's chest. Their playing had most likely already worn him out. It was almost time for his nap, anyway. From the looks of it, the little one's playmate needed one as well.  
  
A wry smile curved her lips as she turned away from the window to continue folding the laundry.  
  
As she pulled another shirt from the pile, a couple of socks fell to the floor. She set the shirt down and bent to pick them up, something on the underside of the table catching her eye.   
  
A small shelf had been added to the table, in the corner where it would be hard to notice. It was enclosed on all but one side, as if to create a small box for whatever it held.   
  
Head cocked to the side in curiosity, she studied the soft, tan-colored material that peeked out from the edge of the niche. She didn't remember seeing the shelf, nor its contents before. How long had it been there? More important, why was it on the underside of the table?  
  
'Only one way to find out,' she thought, grabbing the fabric to draw it fully out of the niche.  
  
It turned out to be a pouch of some sort. The contents clinked together faintly, filling the sack like marbles.  
  
She untied the thong keeping it closed, and folded the edges away to see what was inside.  
  
Beads. Fairly familiar-looking black beads. With a few... teeth... of some sort mixed in.  
  
She knew what these were. What they had been. The prayer beads her husband wore for several years, beginning with the day she met him. The necklace that allowed her to keep him from catching her, or hurting others unnecessarily. Or to subdue him if he was ticking her off. The necklace that helped him out of harm's way on a few occasions.  
  
She'd wondered what had become of it. Apparently, her mate did indulge his sentimental side at times, though he'd deny it.  
  
The day she'd removed the necklace was etched in her memory, the details as clear to her as if it were yesterday, and not a few years ago.  
  
It was a month before they were formally joined in a human ceremony. The beads had been pointless for quite some time, though he hadn't complained about still wearing them. He'd claimed they were his link to her when she was gone, in one of those few and precious moments where he would share his feelings with her.  
  
They were sitting in his favorite tree, quietly watching the sunset through the branches. He'd started carrying her up to sit with him when they wanted time alone, though it wasn't true total privacy. The others knew where they were, but rarely invaded their time together.  
  
She reached up to scratch one of his ears, smiling as he leaned into her hand. She was the only one allowed to do such a thing, his mother being the lone other to ever have permission. They both found the gesture comforting, though he pretended he was merely indulging her when the others were around.  
  
Her hand drifted down the side of his face to rest just below the circle of beads. They clinked together as her fingertips brushed against the necklace.  
  
"Do you know how many times you killed my back with those things?" she heard his voice rumble beneath her ear.  
  
"Hmm. I didn't really think they'd hurt you that much. You made such a fuss about being such a big, tough demon," she teased.  
  
"Keh. I am a big, tough demon."  
  
Her smile grew wider. "And yet all I had to do was say one word..."  
  
"Irritating wench," he muttered, shifting her in his lap.  
  
"But you love me anyway," she sighed and settled against him.  
  
He didn't reply, but she could feel him lean down to press a light kiss to the top of her head.  
  
He lifted his head and leaned back against the tree trunk, eyes closed.  
  
Impulsively, she moved to hold the necklace in both hands and snapped the string holding it together, still hanging on to the ends so the beads would not fall. He looked down at her hands, then into her eyes, surprise evident on his features. She smiled at him, leaning closer to bring the string behind him, so she could place the ends in one hand and draw the former necklace away.  
  
"You don't need it anymore," she murmured, looking away to tie the ends of the string around the beads. "Besides, I know how to make one now...," she mock-threatened.  
  
"Keh," he snorted. "You still have to make up for all the injuries you gave me with that one."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Mmm-hmm," he hummed arrogantly.  
  
"And how do you propose I do that?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.  
  
"I'll think of something." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back again, as if wanting to contemplate the question.  
  
"How about this... there's, let's see... ten black beads here, so...," she trailed off and pressed her lips to his and drew away. "One." She repeated the kiss, pulling back and murmuring, "Two."  
  
"I think I like this idea," he murmured against her lips.  
  
"Hmm. Three. So... Four... do I."  
  
He counted with her until they reached ten. "The next one's a tooth. I think that's worth at least five kisses," he informed her, smirking.  
  
"Maybe," she countered, trying to look stern, though her eyes were still smiling. "You think you deserve that many? I was thinking more along the lines of one, like all the others." She rested her hands on his shoulders for more leverage and leaned in, breaking into a smile when she was a breath away. "A nice long one..."  
  
He grinned back and caught her lips with his.  
  
She didn't notice as he slid his hands along her arms to take the beads from her hands.  
  
"There," he muttered triumphantly a few moments later, when they both needed air.  
  
"What?" she asked, still a bit dazed.  
  
"A circle has no ends," he replied, the cryptic answer bringing a confused look to her face.  
  
He silently held up the beads, the ends joined together as they had been around his neck.  
  
"Why you little sneak!" she cried, making a grab for the necklace. He held it above his head, out of her reach, the smirk returning as she stretched as far as she could.  
  
"But you love me anyway," he tossed her earlier words back at her.  
  
She smiled and dropped her arm back against his chest. "Of course I do," she said quietly, her hand creeping up to scratch his ear as she had before. "Never doubt it."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, wrapping both arms around her to hold her securely against him.  
  
Silence fell as they watched the last of the sun's light fade from the sky.  
  
  
She shook her head as the creaking of one of the floorboards drew her out of her reverie. Turning, she saw him standing in the doorway, their son asleep on his shoulder.  
  
She bit her lip and buried the pouch in the clothes still piled on the table, wondering if he had noticed what she had in her hand. To hide the flush creeping up her cheeks, she returned to folding the laundry and placing it in the basket.  
  
She didn't notice as he left, nor when he returned, this time without the boy. A hand on her arm startled her and she dropped the shirt she'd been carefully creasing, so that it lay in a heap on the floor.  
  
"Where were you just now?" he asked.  
  
She shook her head. "Just remembering," she replied, not wanting to elaborate.  
  
He knew she was hiding something. He looked down at her hands, his eyes drawn to a spot just beyond them on the table.  
  
"Keh, you found this, didn't you," he snorted, pulling the pouch back out of the pile.  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
"Stupid things," he muttered gruffly. "I don't know why I hung on to them." She knew his protests were fake-- he wouldn't save them if he really didn't care.  
  
She smiled and looked up at him, only to catch the slight pink tinge to his own cheeks as he avoided her gaze.  
  
"I love you," she told him, bringing his eyes back to her face.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her in response, wrapping his arms around her, telling her wordlessly that he loved her, too. 


End file.
